San Francisco, CA – January 7, 2026 – This Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Teal Health kicks off a joint effort with industry leading women’s health and lifestyle brands, to inform all women and people with a cervix that cervical cancer is preventable, and with routine screening and vaccination, we have the power to eliminate cervical cancer in the U.S within our lifetime. In fact, it will be through screening that we can achieve this goal sooner and now that screening has gotten easier and more convenient, elimination could be in sight.

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For decades, cervical cancer has been a story of progress with an asterisk. Thanks to cervical cancer screenings like HPV testing and Pap smears, death rates have plummeted since the inception of the screening in the 1940s. At that time, cervical cancer was the leading cause of cancer death among women. But today in the U.S., nearly 300K people are living with cervical cancer and millions, nearly 1 in 3 women, are not completing their screening. This is not out of neglect and not specific to any one group of women. The reality is it's difficult to complete a screening due to lack of time, appointment availability, and discomfort with the traditional speculum exam. The even more troubling stat is that cervical cancer is increasing in 30-44 year olds, impacting women at the prime of their family and career-building years. 

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The good news is that, in the past year, self-collection at-home and in-clinic has been FDA-authorized and written into the screening guidelines by the American Cancer Society and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as an accurate alternative to screening in-clinic with the speculum. Self-collection allows U.S. women for the first time ever, to privately and comfortably collect their own sample for screening. 

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This January, with the message: “HPV test, Pap smear, cervical cancer screening - However you say it, just don’t delay it,” Teal Health, alongside Midi Health, Maven Clinic, Wisp, Kindbody, Evvy, The Flex Company, and more are on a mission to:

• Cut through the jargon
• Inform women of their screening options
• Encourage screening 
• Ask all people to check in on their loved ones and recommend they schedule their own screening

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“Women already look out for each other every day, and when we apply that same energy to our health, real change happens,” said Kara Egan, CEO and Co-founder of Teal Health. “Cervical cancer screening saves lives. If we show up for it consistently, this is a cancer we can eliminate in our lifetime. Together, we are making screening something women talk about openly and act on confidently, on their terms.”

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Teal Health, which received FDA-authorization last year for their at-home cervical cancer screening self-collection device, the Teal Wand™, has announced they are now available in all 50 states and work with most major insurance plans. Learn more or order your screening kit at getteal.com. 

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YourScreeningOptions.com
To learn more about your screening options or to raise awareness of cervical cancer screening, visit YourScreeningOptions.com.

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About Teal Health

Teal Health is a woman-led company on a mission to improve women's healthcare experiences – starting with the first FDA-authorized vaginal self-collection device for at-home cervical cancer screening available nationwide. By creating the option for a woman to screen for cervical cancer from the comfort of home with virtual support and personalized follow-up care when needed, Teal can increase access to this life-saving cancer screening. Teal Health is a member of the Cervical Cancer Roundtable, a joint collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the Cancer Moonshot, a coalition of industry leaders with the goal of eliminating cervical cancer as a public health concern in the US. To learn more, visit www.getteal.com.

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Contact:

Mallory Walsh

media@tealhealth.co